How to Break The Myth of “Tomorrow”

The mythical place we keep our dreams, this fantasy land called “tomorrow” – is a diversion we have to train ourselves to avoid and conquer.

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Watch our discussion of this LIVE, right here at 6pm PST on The Empowered Life!

Have you ever found yourself wishing you had more time to do what you wanted to do with your life? Do you often find yourself making big plans to turn over a new leaf “tomorrow” – but “tomorrow” never seems to show up? Do your birthdays seem to come much faster every year?

We love Superman because he can fly right up to the peak without hindrance; he doesn’t have to take the small steps…

Time is slippery. We let it get away from us when we believe in the myth of “tomorrow.” Goals in the distance are incredibly important, but only so we can extrapolate down to the steps directly in front of our feet. We love Superman because he can fly right up to the peak without hindrance; he doesn’t have to take the small steps. Many of us are great at envisioning the peak and wanting desperately to get there; but the real super men are the ones who have a strong enough vision to get up and hike each day in the right direction, knowing the peak will be there when they are ready. It takes real guts to see the baby steps and commit to the journey.

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Forgetting the myth and living each “today” is empowering. How do we go from believing the myth to debunking it?
I’ll continue to use the hiking metaphor. Envision that peak, place it on your map (don’t forget to place yourself on the map), decide on a path or direction, and then forget about the peak and follow the path in front of you each day. If you’ve done a good job of defining your path to a well envisioned peak, your only task is to walk each day. Forgetting the peak is like forgetting “tomorrow” – which takes the daunting nature out of the long journey and allows for a simpler existence. Say this out loud, “there is no tomorrow… I’m going to live today in a big way.” Feels good, right?

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Now, along the path are the factors that affect us (positively or negatively) – health, money, relationships, etc. It is very important to keep the positive influences on the path; and equally important to shed the weight that keeps you from moving forward each day.

Right now, decide what you spend time on each day that is irrelevant to your main purpose. Is it a video game, bad television, politics, sports news, your fantasy sports team, a dramatic relationship or friendship, your phone, drinking, smoking, drugs, or maybe a long commute? See if you can take a 48 hour break from it. This break from your habit may afford you time take a step toward your vision TODAY. If it feels good, it’s probably good for you – so see if you can take another break of 72 hours next week… you get the picture.

As you near your peak, you will likely find another peak in the distance – this is a sure sign that you are on the right path. Our purpose reveals itself in layers. If you found out today that the end goal was Everest, you’d probably be too daunted to start. Fortunately, we don’t see that peak first. We see the attainable stretch goal in front of us; and then if/when we reach it we decide we’re ready for the next level that we weren’t even aware of at the beginning of the journey.

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So what is your next peak? Ask yourself what can you do TODAY, like right this minute, to move in that direction. I hope you will forget about the myth of “tomorrow” and commit to the reality of NOW.

Comments

Dale, I liked it and believe in what you said. A line from one of my favorite movies goes like this “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death. “ And it’s true. Years ago on the corporate world, I was involved in a lot of training programs and some of these programs involved helping staff to broaden their capabilities. I distinctly remember one program that introduced a study that identified the number of people who live in the last, the proverbial coulda, woulda, shoulda. The truth is ya can’t change the past so why let it interfere with your life now? Then, if I recall there was an equally high number of people who live in the future. “I’m going to do this and that and when I’m X age, I’m gonna ….” But the reality is that there is no guarantee that any of us will have a future. I could pull out of my driveway and be T-boned by a garbage truck and die. Then finally the study identified that a small percent of people live for the now.

Sad to see so many people just existing in life and not seeing the opportunities they have right now. Personally I wasn’t too sad that the economy fell the way it did. Brought some people to a point that they could start to live life and be excited about the more simple things. My grandsons have given me a gift to again see life through young, uninhibited eyes of a child.

I suppose it’s easier said then done but I can tell ya, I’ve done some things in my later years that I scratch my head thinking “why did I wait so long?”

Oh, before I forget, My dad was a major influence to my living life more for today. He was a hard worker all of his life and although he had a lot of good times with vacations and all, his dream was a road trip with my mom to Alaska. He planned it for years. He died within weeks of the trip, as he was working on the camping trailer, preparing it for that trip.

“If it feels good, it’s probably good for you…”not always. I find that many times taking a healthier road requires some level of pain, of breaking from the old easy ways. It’s the not-so-good for you stuff that feels good. Withdrawal from chemicals and sore muscles after a good workout are not an easy path. Necessary, yes. Feel good, no. But, through more and more of those steps that you know are headed toward your goal, yes, those may begin to give you a feeling of accomplishment, confidence, and that achievement will propel you towards the next baby steps.
It’s the starting – the deciding – that is the hardest steps.

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